St. Cloud Favored To Give Bishop Moore 1st Defeat

November 6, 1986|By Frank Carroll of The Sentinel Staff

Fourth-ranked (Class AAA) Orlando Bishop Moore High School (7-0) is experiencing its best run of football luck in more than a decade. The undefeated Hornets are St. Cloud's next non-district opponent at 8 p.m. Friday at Gannarelli Field.

After a 5-5 record last season, Bishop Moore Coach Caesar Campana has made sure the school's losing period is history.

Instead of participating against Class AAA, District 5 competition -- foes that include Titusville Astronaut, Orlando Jones and Rockledge -- Bishop Moore bowed out of post-season contention in favor of an independent schedule.

Among Orange County's 13 varsity programs, the Hornets rank last both in pass defense and pass offense. Bishop Moore averages only 41 yards per game throwing the ball, yielding 111 yards per game.

The Bulldogs' record (3-4) is less impressive, but St. Cloud has held its own against teams like eighth-ranked Titusville Astronaut, ninth-ranked Okeechobee, Jones, Rockledge and New Smyrna Beach.

Coach Danny Rea Smith still is irritated over Bishop Moore's 7-0 victory a year ago and proclaimed this as the Hornets' ''Week of Doom'' and the Bulldogs have been wearking black arm bands this week to commemorate the Hornets' visit.

Bishop Moore, which amassed 481 yards rushing against Tampa Catholic last week, has averaged a Central Florida-leading 263 rushing yards and 304.6 total yards per game behind freshman Darin Hodges, the Hornets' leading grounder gainer with 9.7 yards per carry. Hodges has 834 yards (87 carries) and 10 touchdowns.

The Osceola Seer, a head-swelling 13-2 last week is 26-3 over the past two weeks, bettering the season's prognostications to 88 right, 34 wrong (72.1 percent).